This forum is Buffalo’s official sounding board for mere commentators whose self-annointed pursuit is bashing the folks who do actually work hard advocating for the city. These commentators – oh wait, pundits – then sheepishly shrug their shoulders when those advocates savor a victory. Hopefully this knock on the Waterfront Coalition is one of those instances.

Hell, some bloggers are actually out fighting for this town. None here!

The notion that I’m not out fighting for this town is the biggest pile of horseshit I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t mind taking that hit from someone who actually has a record of some sort of activism that trumps mine. But who the hell is Paul Francis? What’s his record? Who is he to dismiss my record? For four years – a time when there were only a small handful of blogs in this town – I’ve been promoting the city and talking it up.

Harvey Garrett has also engaged me in comments and in email, and we’ve gone back and forth and reached stalemate with respect to the merits of Route 5, but he is very offended by the satirical video because it mocks people who are concerned citizens. He writes,

What happened to you two (and WNYMedia)?

Now, if you’ve already been to Geek’s site, and are thinking, “Pundit’s ripping off Geek’s idea“, you’re kinda right. But I haven’t really responded on my own terms, so apologies for the duplication.

Harvey tells me that we crossed the line. That we “took it too far”. I responded, “Being racist or defamatory or bigoted would be taking it too far. Making fun of a group’s political position is not.”

Here’s how I responded to Harvey’s query as to what “happened”:

What happened to me is that I’m sick and tired of having reasonable development plans that are in motion stymied by a vocal few.

What happened to me is that I’m sick and tired of the city being held back by taxes, obstructionism, poor image, and dumb politicians.

What happened to me is that I’m really trying to maintain a positive attitude about a place that argues more about Basses Pro and Routes 5 than about ways to grow the economy so that everyone can win.

What happened to me is that I’m tired of being told that I’m part of the problem or otherwise neanderthal because I refuse to go along with someone else’s notion of what’s right. Or because of where I live.

What’s happened to me is that I’m annoyed when people take a position and then insinuate that it is beyond reproach and should not be subject to high school mockery because the targets are “concerned citizens.”

What’s happened to me is that I don’t anymore have the stomach to hear Mickey Kearns talk about building a “new city on the lake” when a vast swaths of the existing city are empty or emptying.

What’s happened to me is that I’m a lawyer, and the first thing I look at when arguing an issue is whether the person has met applicable deadlines. The Waterfront Coalition did not. Game over.

Or would, say, Tim Tielman or the Riverkeeper enjoy it if I started a coalition calling for the immediate implementation of Bass Pro on the Central Wharf building in spite of the 2004 master plan, etc., because I think that’s a better idea. Or would they mock the living shit out of me? Because if I did do that, believe me – they wouldn’t deign to call me a “concerned citizen” or “activist”.

Like a lot of people in this town, I get up in the morning, get my kids ready for school, say goodbye to my family, go to work, do the best job I can, have lunch, go back to work, do a good job, drive home, see my wife & kids, play with my kids, have dinner, watch TV, pay my taxes, pay my bills, do chores, go to sleep, lather, rinse, repeat. I could just end it there.

But I also get active in the community. I singlehandedly organized a well-received & attended discussion panel on Bass Pro. I helped organize screenings and panel discussions on Darfur, on the media in America, on the future of politics, on Wal-Mart’s affect on communities, on the Iraq War. We co-sponsored “The Cost”. On top of that, I sacrificed a great deal of time and money to run for elected office, something from which I’m still recovering, and I’m considering becoming active in Clarence town government.

That might seem like a weak resume to some who do far more good than I, but I’m as much an activist as any of the people on that waterfront coalition, and through the work that I’ve done and the things that I’ve advocated for, I have earned the right to tell it like I see it, and to criticize whatever I feel like.

Others have suggested that this is merely part of an ongoing, nonexistent war between WNYMedia and Buffalo Rising.

Let’s examine.

Buffalo Rising is a local media outlet which, like the Buffalo News, is not above reproach or criticism. When they post something I find silly or comment-worthy, I’m going to do so. Buffalo Rising generally eschewed politics throughout its history. Until recently, that is. In the last couple of months, it has become the Komsomolskaya Pravda – the official organ – of the Waterfront Coalition. Buffalo Rising has staked out and promoted a distinct position on a political issue. I have found the arguments made and the language used to oftentimes be worthy of critique. I have commented there, and here, about it. Because I generally comment about politics and media in Buffalo, what Buffalo Rising has done with the Waterfront Coalition is, essentially, a perfect storm of comment-worthy material on this issue. End of story. Anyone reading more into it is flat-out wrong.

So, yes the video was silly, but we thought it was funny. We fully expected that many people would find it dumb and unfunny, and that’s fine. Hell, half the skits that make air on SNL suck eggs. The notion that we shouldn’t have done it because it’s mean to well-meaning people is unpersuasive.